A daredevil sport invented by young men in the Parisian suburbs and glamorised by James Bond's Casino Royale is set to become the latest weapon in climate campaigners' arsenal. Over 3,500 "free-runners" will leap, roll and vault through the urban landscape of 100 cities in 35 countries tomorrow in a record-breaking bid to help push governments into a tough deal at UN climate change talks in December.

Free-running, or "parkour", involves hurtling over buildings and walls as fast - and elegantly — as possible. The One Giant Leap of simultaneous worldwide parkour "jams" is organised by the campaign group Sandbag and veteran freerunners say the scale of the event is ten times any previous attempt.

Bryony Worthington, Sandbag founder and director, said: "We're asking world leaders to take one giant leap and focus their efforts on agreeing laws that will deliver a real change on the ground — creating massive investment in clean, safe forms of electricity. We'll need clean electricity to heat our homes and power our cars in a low-carbon future."

The jams will take place in cities from San Francisco and Sydney to Jarkarta and Guangdong, with the London meeting starting at 11am at the IMAX in Waterloo, an area whose brutalist concrete architecture has made it a popular rendezvous for parkour practitioners, known as "traceurs". Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, said he will be attending the London event.

Dan Edwardes, director of educational group Parkour Generations, said: "The largest ever previous gathering was around 300-400 traceurs in France, so there has never been anything like this. We're taking part because parkour is a low-carbon and environmentally sustainable activity."

The parkour movement developed in the 1980s in France and has mushroomed into a global sport with the backing of films and TV documentaries . Stephane Vigroux, one of the founders of free-running who is renowned for his "saut de chat" move - jumping a wall by placing your hands on the top and pushing your legs between your arms - said the movement was well-placed to spread the global warming message to new audiences. "Through parkour you improve yourself as a human being by passing on important messages - such as respecting the environment - to other people," he said.

Naomi Honey, a free-runner in London, added that there were natural parallels between the sport and efforts to reduce emissions: "They're both about efficiency. Parkour is about being efficient with your body – trying to access its full capabilities. You're constantly trying to develop the strength and control and fluidity to enable you to move further, faster and with less effort. The drive against climate change is about the same thing. No one is suggesting that we go back to a world before electricity, just that we make sure we are using everything in the most efficient way."